Paranormal Activity

I saw Paranormal Activity this weekend and, suprisingly, I wasn't that scared. Well, except for the last 7 minutes or so. I actually may have been more scared if I had watched it at home as it may have made the movie seem more real. The theater was light enough to be able to see other moviegoers and there were a ton of kids in the back giggling and making noise.

For those of you who haven't heard about Paranormal Activity, here's a quick synopsis... A couple begin videotaping their lives inside their home after the girl experiences "paranormal activity" at night while she is sleeping. Turns out that the videotaping only pisses off the demons more which escalates the whole situation. I won't tell you the ending if you were planning on watching it.

All in all, I'd give it a B+ rating. And although I had no trouble falling asleep after watching the movie, I did get a little spooked when I had to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom.

BEST NEWS EVER!

My manager just gave me the best news ever today! I will no longer have to suffer through working nights anymore- at the end of November I can move to a day shift position!!!! This is beyond exciting as it will mean that my life will finally get back to normal.
- I will be able to end my days at 3:30pm and work out
- I will be able to sleep in the same bed, AT THE SAME TIME, as my husband!
- I will be able to have a glass of wine with dinner
- I will be able to get 8 hours or more of sleep per night
- I will be able to have 3 meals a day at the appropriate times (instead of breakfast, dinner, then a snack at 3am)
- I can start drinking coffee in the morning, not at 9pm at night
- I will have the energy to see friends and stay up past 8pm on my weekends off

What I'm Looking Forward to After School Ends

It's amazing how the little things can make you so happy

- Cleaning out my email inbox

- Making new, healthy recipes for Bryan

- Deep cleaning my apartment on a regular basis

- Learning to sew a baby blanket

-Taking walks with my mom again

-Resuming a regular exercise schedule

-Seeing my friends more often than every 3 months

-Taking Homer to new parks to meet other dogs

-Selling a stack of worthless text books

-Keeping up with what's going on in the news

A Trip Down Memory Lane

I got lost driving up to school the other day. I’m not sure what’s wrong with me, I’ve driven up there so many times it’s not even funny. I used to think I could do it in my sleep. So yeah, I got lost. I was actually on my way from SFO airport and decided to save myself a separate trip and turn in my comp exam a little early since I was already halfway to SF.

Instead of staying on 101 I got off near Moscone Center and decided to just take city streets all the way across town to USF. Traffic sucks in San Francisco! I could feel my blood pressure rising just from dealing with all of the sudden double parking, pedestrians randomly running out into oncoming traffic, and one way streets. It’s amazing how quickly I forgot (or blocked out) how to drive in the city since moving away 17 months ago.

As I was driving to school, all of these familiar places started jumping out at me. I drove down Sansome past my first full time job at ServiceSource. All of our lunch places, happy hour spots, and the walk back home down Broadway with all of the stripper joints. Through the Broadway tunnel I remembered the LOOOONG bus ride home to the Marina, stopping every 5 feet (or so it felt like) to let people on and off. I remember the first day I took the bus to work and how nervous I was, I think I got off about 3 stops before my actual stop. I drove past Nick’s Crispy Tacos (they are so delicious) and the Chinese place where Bryan and I had our third date. It was at that date that I realized I wanted him to be my boyfriend. I remembered all of the mornings of waking up at 6am and throwing on my scrubs, then catching the bus in the dark to Buchanan and walking about 6 blocks uphill to get to the hospital for my clinicals, just as the sun was starting to rise. Driving down Geary I thought of going to Bay to Breakers for the first time and naively thinking I could catch a cab back home, no problem. I ended up waiting out in the rain on Geary for nearly an hour before I got picked up. Then finally getting to my school and remembering all of the long hours studying, the endless hours spent in the skills lab worrying over passing each new skill, and the hundreds of tests and papers I’ve managed to get through in the past two and a half years. Wow, it’s been a crazy few years and so much has happened in my life. I’ve entered, left , and reentered the working world, I’ve met my husband and gotten married, moved four times, gotten a puppy, and managed to keep some of my sanity. Whew, I’m tired now just thinking about it all.

Naughty Nutella Sandwiches = HEAVEN

I discovered the most delicious, yummiest snack EVER! Ever heard of Nutella? It’s a jar of creamy hazelnut and chocolate spread that seriously puts peanut butter to shame. I usually eat a hearty snack before going off to work so I don’t get hungry before my break and I was used to having toast with peanut butter on it, sometimes with bananas if there were any around. I saw Nutella at the store a few weeks ago and decided to try it out in place of my usual peanut butter. I had no idea what I was missing! Bryan Emeril Lagasse’d it by buttering each side of the bread after making a sandwich and cooking it in a frying pan for a bit so the bread got all buttery and crunchy and the inside was all warm and gooey. Totally naughty and delicious. I think nutella is going on my top 5 list of things I’d want on a desert island. Give it a try sometime, you won’t regret it!

Weekend Recap

The weekend in Del Mar, San Diego was just what I needed. Bryan and I had some amazing time enjoying the beach right out our hotel window, yummy meals on the water, and good times with friends. Friday night we went to dinner at a wonderful restaurant right next to our hotel (it was actually a motel, but not shabby at all). We sat facing the setting sun and shared several appetizers. It was nice to share a meal that wasn't rushed, where we could talk about our life, our goals, and reminisce on the past four years of our relationship. I forgot my camera this weekend, but I found a pic that reminds me of our view on Friday night

Saturday we woke up and headed back to the restaurant for some brunch. We waited about an hour and a half for some of Bryan's friends to show up (which ordinarily would've put Bryan in a bad mood, but since it was our vacation he didn't let it bother him) and just sat out by the beach with some coffee. After brunch, we walked around Del Mar for a bit and headed back to the room to get ready for the wedding. Here are some pictures of our hotel

Here's what I took away from this weekend:

-I need to try to enjoy the ride instead of just looking ahead to what will be life when we accomplish this or that

- On that same note, it's important to take time and some money to have fun any chance you get

- Bryan and I may not have as much as others, but we have a marriage built on deep friendship, love, and mutual respect- our lives will be good no matter what because it is not, and never has been, dependent on material things

- I think I have about 5 weeks left of actual classes and that I can handle!

I slept for 17 hours today

A funny pic to offset my downer post
Today is the first day in a LOOOOONG TIME where I woke up feeling like a normal human being. It only took 17 hours of sleeping (with a few bathroom breaks thrown in) to get there. I'm happy for the much needed rest, but it also just reminds me of how abnormal and unhealthy my life is at this moment.



Now it's 9:40pm and I'm drinking my 2nd cup of coffee, getting ready to wake up for work. This week has been rough. Really rough. I've had some of the hardest days yet. Nursing is hard work. There are no ifs, ands or buts about it. We get paid well, but not nearly enough for what we have to deal with on a regular basis. I am sick of changing a 200+lb patient's diaper by myself, not knowing what to do about 50% of the situations that happen to me because it's the FIRST TIME I'VE DEALT WITH IT BEFORE in my career, and constantly feeling like an idiot for asking questions every 5 minutes. I'll say it again- this is really rough right now.



So, Bryan has already gone to bed. I'm glad he is getting his rest, but I can't help but feel more depressed and a bit resentful that he gets to sleep now and I'm supposed to be revving up to start my job. Whoever chooses to work the night shift either: A)really needs the extra $$, B) has no life outside of work, C) only needs an average of 4 hours of sleep/day D) or has a few screws loose. (I hope none of my coworkers are reading this.)



I'm looking forward to this weekend which will amazingly start on Thursday! We are having sushi with Annie and Jared, then Friday we are off for another weekend in San Diego. But this time we are being smart. We are renting a car and taking some much, MUCH needed alone, couple time. (You can interpret that to mean whatever you like). Sorry to all of our friends who will want to hang out- that's what the wedding is for. The rest of the time I'm going to remember what it's like to be married, and find out how Bryan's life has been for the past month. We haven't even been married for a year- isn't this supposed to be the honeymoon period?! Not the "have a nice sleep, I'm going off to work so we won't sleep in the same bed for the nteenth time in a row" period. Meh.



I know, I know you may be thinking "well, be grateful for this job, be grateful that you have your health, blah, blah, blah". I am grateful, but also resentful at the same time. I can do that, right? I know I have no life threatening illness and no one in my immediate circle of peeps has died, but life is still hard now. I haven't worked out in forever, I have permanent bags under my eyes, and I've lost that happy Grace attitude I'm known for, HA! I will get it back though. I'm working on it. In the meantime I'll just vent a little.

Screaming patients that sound like cats

BIG NEWS...I finished writing my comp exam! It only took me about 16 pages in before I started to wonder, "Geez, I might not be able to write 20 pages... this is taking forever!"...then I realized I was writing it in 11 point font. The paper is supposed to be 12 point font. You'd think it doesn't make that big of a difference, but it does. My paper magically became 19 pages and I still had 2 sections to go. But I'm done and now I just need to get it proof read and I will have a semi-life again.

Work is going well- I am totally getting the hang of it and getting into a rhythm in my shift. It takes a lot to get me flustered now which is nice since the slightest hiccup would practically send me into tears in the beginning. I'm starting to realize that I'm not a night person. As much as I try to get into it, I just always feel tired and not myself. As soon as I can switch to a normal shift (i.e. waking hours) I am done with staying up all night. Save that for when we have babies and I am required to wake at odd hours.

So, the other night I came to work and went about my normal routine: put my stuff away in my locker, get out my supplies, and checked my patient assignment. As I was looking up my patients, I heard this weird shreaking sound. It honestly sounded like an animal. Another nurse came in and asked if there was a cat on the unit. No, it was a patient. To be more specific, it was the roommate of my patient (who was only slightly less insane). Between the Screamer and the other patient who would cuss you out if you tried to change his dirty diaper, it was an interesting night.

A few things I've learned from working on the night shift:

1) If a patient has any tendencies towards dementia it will come out at night!

2) Keep crazy patients asleep at all costs! (Just make sure they are still breathing)

3) Always be on guard- you don't want to get punched/kicked/strangled by a patient and it happens more than you think!

Halfway Done!

I'm halfway done with my comp exam! I've been writing for several days and I'm finally making some headway on this stupid paper. It's interesting finding the time to write. Usually after Homer goes to bed at 8:30-10:30pm, then I'm off to work. (OK, so I'm having a pity party for myself but I'm allowing it for the next month until this annoyance is out of my life). So glad the OCD part of my personality came out in organizing the articles, I have an awesome system filled with notecards and highlighting and (although I guarantee I'll never need to use it again since I'll never go back to school after I get this degree) it is nice to know I have a system in place...just in case.

Looking forward to going to work tonight THEN zooming home in the morning to quickly change out of my disease-laden scrubs just in time to get picked up by my carpool ladies to go to class ALL DAY. I will surely be a zombie woman. Luckily I get to sit through stimulating lectures on budgeting and health care reform, those are sure to keep me awake!

More posts soon- they should get more interesting the closer I get to finishing this paper.

Lazy Sunday

So, it's been awhile since I've posted anything primarily because I've had little time to catch my breath. Life is crazy busy- working nights, school, Homer, writing this comp exam (the equivalent of a thesis) have left me with little spare time. The picture on the left is Bryan and Homer relaxing on the couch watching football (yes, Homer is watching too) and being lazy on a Sunday afternoon. Bryan just took the Algebra portion of his CSET test yesterday and he's rewarding all of his studying efforts with a day glued to the couch. I, on the other hand, have spent the afternoon working on my comp exam outline and trying to make some sense of all of the notes (mostly chicken scratch) I've compiled. I have a 2 inch stack of research articles (that I actually read!) an I'm feeling like I'm finally getting somewhere with this paper. Now, I just need to start writing.

I also included a close up of Homer as I've had multiple requests for some updated pics. He's such a big boy now! He's lost all of his baby teeth (ate most of them before I could save them), grown in some powerful adult teeth, lost his puppy down and grown real doggy fur, and grown to a whopping 11 lbs! He's now 6 months old. Speaking of time, I just realized Bryan and I will reach our 6 month wedding anniversary tomorrow. That is mind-blowing to me, it seems like yesterday that we were planning and stressing about the big day. Now many of our friends are going through this process and we are lucky enough to sit back at our assigned tables and thank our lucky stars that it's no longer us!

Work is going well. I haven't killed anyone yet. I'm actually feeling more confident everyday. What I'm realizing is that I am not meant to be a bedside nurse for the eternity of my career. Everyday I see processes and systems failures within healthcare that are difficult, if not impossible, to change as a bedside nurse. I get satisfaction out of taking care of my patients and I undoubtedly see the importance of building a nursing career with a strong foundation in clinical nursing. However, my heart lies in improving the system and that is not at the bedside level. But one step at a time, right? I tend to get ahead of myself most of the time.

Adventures at Puppy School

(This is homer when he was much younger- I need to find my camera cable to download new pics!)

We've had Homer for about 3 months now and we have just enrolled him in puppy school. Unfortunately, we were misinformed about keeping him "protected" from other dogs until he'd completed his vaccines, so we are a little late to start the training... Ideally, we would have enrolled him sooner, but better late than never...right? RIGHT???

Overall, I give him a B+ in terms of good behavior and manners. I'm sure Bryan gives him a D, haha. As he's gotten bigger and older, he's grown more defiant and less afraid of exploring (and getting into trouble)! The incessant morning barking at everything from cars and birds chirping to a sudden shift in wind direction would send him into a fit of barks. For being only 10 lbs he's a noisy little boy! To make it harder is the fact that 9am-2pm are my prime sleeping hours after work. And no you didn't read that wrong, I get about 4-6 hours of sleep per day now.

So, we enrolled him in the first puppy school offered... all the way in Pacifica!It's not technically a puppy class, per se. It's for dogs aged 5 months and above that have never had formal training.

We've been to 1 class so far and I'm quite impressed by our little Homer. He was easily the most well-behaved doggy in the class (except for the 6 yr old, overweight Labrador that looked like she'd rather be at home sleeping on some couch). Maybe it's his intimidation with bigger, louder, meaner dogs. Maybe he has just been waiting for the opportunity to show us his aptitude for tricks. Either way, our expectations were a bit too high for our young pup. In the span of about 30 minutes we successfully taught him his name. (Maybe he knew it before, but he wasn't always willing to come to us when called). We also taught him "sit", "watch me", and "settle".

He's still treat-motivated. String cheese, to be specific. And walks are still challenging, but we see improvement everyday and Rome wasn't built in a day, right?

Will keep the Puppy school updates going...who knows what he will know by week 6 of 6!? Maybe by then he'll be driving himself to puppy class :-)

Half Way Done!

I've completed 14 out of 24 shifts of my new RN training.

I'm also done working on day shift...on Friday I will start training on the night shift (2300-0700). I'm nervous about changing my circadian rhythm, trying to sleep during the daytime, and just managing to stay awake past midnight!

I'm also sad to be leaving the people who work on the day shift. It's like I'm starting a whole new job with different staff, different hours, and a totally new set of priorities than the day shift. It will be interesting, to say the least.

I have learned quite a bit so far as a nurse. I've seen a lot of different patients come through. Patients recovering from strokes, end stage renal disease patients on dialysis, congestive heart failure patients, patients with pacemakers, GI bleeds, stage 4 pressure ulcers (ouch!), alcohol withdrawal, severe allergic reactions....

I'm also proud to say that I'm starting to decipher the mysteries of reading EKG strips. When I was supposed to learn those in my med-surg class I did the bare minimum, telling myself "Just pass this test, you will never end up working on a unit where you're required to interpret EKG's" Now, about a year later all of my patients are on telemetry and it's MY JOB TO INTERPRET EKG STRIPS every shift, and monitor my patients throughout the day! So now I plug along every shift. I have my own set of calipers and I reluctantly read my strips every shift. I see if the QRS intervals march out, I measure the PR, QRS, and QT intervals and determine the rhythm. Then I write down my findings in black pen and initial it. Just like Dr. Cooper told us to do :-) Maybe 1 day I'll actually enjoy EKG's...

A few other things I've learned so far:

- Make sure you have all of the information ready BEFORE you call the MD about a patient

- Trust your gut. If something doesn't seem right, it's probably not.

- Think about all of the supplies you'll need and gather them BEFORE you go into the patient's room.

- Your patients are only human. You are only human. Your colleagues are only human. Some people have bad days. Don't take it personally.

-When you have free time- DO YOUR CHARTING! You might not get the chance later.

- There is always enough time to gown and glove/get a drink of water/go pee/adjust things to a comfortable height/take your lunch break/ask for help moving a patient, etc. You only have 1 body and mind and it should be your priority to take care of them.

-Nurses are really superstitious. Don't say "Wow, it's such a slow day!" unless you want to have everyone glaring at you. Plus, then you will probably have a busy shift.

- I actually know a lot more than I thought I did, but...

- I don't know what I don't know (and that's ok, as long as I keep asking questions)

More to come once I start working the night shift, sleeping during daylight hours, and essentially become a vampire...

Exhausted!

I am exhausted these days!

I've just started my new job as an RN at El Camino Hospital. I love my unit, literally every staff member I've met is nice and helpful, AND I'm making moolah again. However, I come home every afternoon completely wiped out. Right now I'm training on day shift (0700-1530) and in a few weeks I'll switch to my regular night shift (2300-0730). Everything is going very well, but it feels like everyday I'm bombarded with at least 50 new things to remember while trying to get back into nurse mode after an 8 month hiatus from bedside nursing. It is physically and mentally exhausting; feeling the persistent nervousness that goes along with knowing how easy it would be to make a mistake and potentially hurt my patients. Let alone remembering multiple things at 1 time.

I saw an episode of Nurse Jackie (such a good show, check it out on Showtime if you have the network otherwise I found it online for free-shhhh) where the student nurse shadowing Nurse Jackie says "I got into nursing because I wanted to help people, but I feel like I'm just slowing you down." That statement hits close to home- it was the way I felt throughout my clinical rotations and I've experienced it intermittently during my training. But I have to admit that every day I learn a little more, each day I can do a new task independently, and with every shift I gain more confidence.

Nurse Jackie responded to the student nurse by saying "This job is wading through a s*** storm of people on the very worst day of their lives. The fact that you care puts you way ahead of hundreds of other people. So go cry in the bathroom if you have to, but you're doing fine."

I haven't had any breakdowns yet (I'm not counting the breakdown I had at home because that wasn't during work). Let's just hope none of my patients go into VFib or anything...at least not for a couple of weeks.

Fear of Transformation

I came across this and thought it was worth sharing...

"Sometimes I feel that my life is a series of trapeze swings. I'm either hanging on to a trapeze bar swinging along or, for a few moments in my life, I'm hurtling across space in between trapeze bars.

Most of the time, I spend my life hanging on for dear life to my trapeze-bar-of-the-moment. It carries me along a certain steady rate of swing and I have the feeling that I'm in control of my life. I know most of the right questions and even some of the right answers. But once in awhile, as I'm merrily (or not so merrily) swinging along, I look ahead of me into the distance, and what do I see? I see another trapeze bar swinging toward me. It's empty, and I know, in that place in me that knows, that this new trapeze bar has my name on it. It is my next step, my growth, my aliveness going to get me. In my heart-of-hearts I know that for me to grow, I must release my grip on the present, well known bar to move to the new one.

Each time it happens to me, I hope (no, I pray) that I won't have to grab the new one. But in my knowing place I know that I must totally release my grasp on my old bar, and for some moment in time I must hurtle across space before I can grab onto the new bar. Each time I am filled with terror. It doesn't matter that in all my previous hurtles across the void of unknowing I have always made it. Each time I am afraid I will miss, that I will be crushed on unseen rocks in the bottomless chasm between the bars. But I do it anyway. Perhaps this is the essence of what the mystics call the faith experience. No guarantees, no net, no insurance policy, but you do it anyway because somehow, to keep hanging onto that old bar is no longer on the list of alternatives. And so for an eternity that can last a microsecond or a thousand lifetimes, I soar across the dark void of "the past is gone, the future is not yet here." It's called transition. I have come to believe that it is the only place that real change occurs. I mean real change, not the pseudo-change that only lasts until the next time my old buttons get punched.

I have noticed that, in our culture, this transition zone is looked upon as a "no-thing", a no-place between places. Sure the old trapeze-bar was real, and that new one coming towards me, I hope that's real too. But the void in between? That's just a scary, confusing, disorienting, "nowhere" that must be gotten through as fast and as unconsciously as possible. What a waste! I have a sneaking suspicion that the transition zone is the only real thing, and the bars are illusions we dream up to avoid the void, where the real change, the real growth occurs for us. Whether or not my hunch is true, it remains that the transition zones in our lives are incredibly rich places. They should be honored, even savored. Yes, with all the pain and fear and feeling out-of-control that can (but not necessarily) accompany transitions, they are still the most alive, most growth-filled, passionate, expansive moments of our lives.

And so, transformation of fear may have nothing to do with making fear go away, but rather with giving ourselves permission to "hang out" in the transitions between trapeze bars. Transforming our need to grab that new bar, any bar, is allowing ourselves to dwell in the only place where change really happens. It can be terrifying. It can also be enlightening, in the true sense of the word. Hurtling through the void, we just may learn how to fly."

From The Essene Book of Days

Life is Good!

LIFE IS GOOD BECAUSE:

Summer is here which means no school for 2.5 months, no hour-long drives up to class in traffic, no papers to write, and the weather is finally getting WARM!

Our puppy is finally learning what "potty" means and there are less middle-of-the-night pee-pee interruptions and accidents. He can also fetch about 50% of the time and is starting to walk on a leash. In essence, he's becomming a doggy!

I got a J-O-B as an RN!!! In the best hospital (in my opinion) in the Bay Area. On one of the coolest units (Telemetry). And I get a salary again for the first time in over 2 years. And I get health benefits. And I can finally start my career which I've worked so hard for these past few years.

There is something to be said for putting out positive energy in the world- it comes back to you eventually!

Homer

We got our new puppy on Saturday. His name is Homer Nabas. He's about 15 inches long and weighs about 4 lbs. He's the most lovable, sweet-natured dog BUT we are exhausted. We set our alarm every 3 hours to take him outside to go "potty". He loves to chew, gets scared of unfamiliar noises and sights, and jumps around in the grass like a bunny. Last night at 4am he successfully went potty (number 2) outside then stepped in it while running towards us to celebrate, then he got it all over my sweatshirt. Good thing I shop excusively at Target these days! He's a lot of work, but so worth it. He is our baby.

Funny Pictures For Your Enjoyment. Why? Because It's FRIDAY!!!

My first serious post...dun, dun dun!

This semester is all about research for me.

I've been working at El Camino Hospital on 2 research projects.

One of the research projects is with the palliative care team. I'm working with the nurses in the ICU to eventually improve the palliative care we give patients with life-limiting illnesses/conditions.(Palliative care isn't hospice; these people have a life limiting illness but may continue active treatment while they are receiving palliative care vs. hospice which focuses on patients with less than 6 months to live and have stopped all treatment. It's like having someone who specializes in pain help with your care even if you haven't decided to throw in the towel and die.)

Basically, I go through the patient database and look up the patient charts on all of these patients who've been identified as candidates for the study. These people are very sick. It is my job to document and interpret the type of care they received (or in many cases, didn't receive). Although I love this and find it super interesting, it does get depressing...

The other day amidst my research I came across the medical record of this poor woman. She was under 35 yrs old, married, and had a baby at home. She also had extremely aggressive cancer that was diagnosed less than 6 months ago. Unfortunately, this patient expired.

I have gone through dozens and dozens of patient records and many of them die, but this particular patient's story just really hit me. It reinforced how vulnerable we are and how quickly life can change. It also made me so appreciative for the many blessings I have in my life. Not only do I have a wonderful family and husband, but I have a career that allows me to be there to help people during some of the most exciting, emotional, and tragic moments of their lives.

A professor once said "It is a gift to have a career that allows you to be with patients as they welcome new life into the world and when they leave this world"

I couldn't agree more.

Pet Peeves/ Things that Annoy/Bum me out

-waking up every morning with a stuffy, runny nose. it's annoying for me and it wakes bryan up

-self-serving and inconsiderate people

-when that person is driving 65mph in the fast lane and sees that you are driving right behind them, but they refuse to merge to another lane...you know they see you, they have to see you!

-since we're on the topic of driving, those people who have their blinkers on just for the heck of it and you think they are trying to merge in front of you so you slow down to be nice and let them in, but they never move over since they never really intended to merge OR the people who are too chicken to merge even when you give them the "go ahead, I'll let you in" hand gesture. those people just need to stay off the freeways I believe.

-the heels of the bread- no one likes those pieces, why do they even sell them in the loaf!

-complainers that don't do anything to address/fix their problems. (these people secretly enjoy being victims)

-group projects (even if I absolutely love my fellow group members, I'm so over them)

- people who guilt trip me...it always works and it pisses me off!

- when you bite into an apple and it's all mealy...gross!

-when someone leaves only a small amount of milk/juice/condiment in the container instead of using it all...haha, that's what I do, just wanted to see if Bryan would catch it!

-when people ask about nursing school, but really don't care or want to hear about it. I can tell in your eyes that you're uninterested so just don't ask, it's really ok

-when DVR doesn't record my shows..c'mon DVR, don't let me down!

-when my hair gets all static-y and is unruly, I NEED A HAIRCUT!

We're getting a puppy!

So, after much searching we've decided to get a dog.

This was by no means an easy decision; it took many hours on Petfinder.com searching for the perfect puppy, determining when we were going to get this new addition to our family, and of course agreeing on the breed of dog. Bryan was adamant about the type of dog he was looking for; it couldn’t be too small, or the wrong color, or have any odd features about it. I, on the other hand, wanted one so badly I probably would’ve agreed to a one-legged, hairless dog if it meant that I finally got to get my puppy.

Sooo, next week we are heading over to the puppy adoption center to pick up our pooch. There is a litter of 8 puppies that will available for adoption. We don’t know which dog we will end up with, but I know it will be adorable!

Wedding Pics

So, our wedding pics are up today!


So fun to look back on the day (and see things I was too overwhelmed to notice at the time). That day was so perfect, but it is nice that life is back to normal now. Everyone keeps asking us if our relationship is different now that we're married... I guess in a way it is because I have a new last name (YES, no longer at the end of the alphabet!). Overall, it's not too different because Bryan and I already lived like we were married long before the wedding. And not just because we were shacking up together, but because we've always shared everything and had the closeness that I believe married couples should have. I do love catching him say "my wife"....sigh. Yep, being married is wonderful... and different.

Inspired

Hi there,

So, I was inspired by my friend, Amy, to start my own blog. While trying to write a paper (one of many in the next few weeks) I got distracted and started reading her blog. It was a great way to procrastinate and by that I mean stalling while writing something that's not due for another 2 wks. That's how I roll. So, hopefully this will be a good way for my friends to see what I'm up to and for me to have an excuse to get out of doing schoolwork!